Companies and inventors seeking patent protection in multiple countries will, from February 12, 2004, have the possibility to electronically file their international application under the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) with WIPO as receiving office.
The full deployment of the PCT-SAFE ("Secure Applications Filed Electronically") system means that applicants from all of the PCT’s 123 member states may file their international applications with WIPO at a reduced fee of up to 300 Swiss francs.
"This milestone in the history of the PCT heralds a new era in the operations of the PCT, which is the cornerstone of the international patent system", said Mr. Francis Gurry, WIPO Deputy Director General who oversees the PCT.
"The availability of secure electronic filing using PCT-SAFE will ensure timely receipt and processing of international applications and will translate into significant efficiency gains both for users of the system and for WIPO", he added.
Full deployment of PCT-SAFE within the WIPO receiving office means that PCT users can now file their international applications either on-line or using physical media such as CD-R. It follows a pilot phase, which provided an opportunity for PCT users and WIPO to test and evaluate the PCT-SAFE system.
For more information, please visit www.wipo.int